Last night was a historical day. 14 Malaysian academicians were bestowed with the Thomson Reuters "Rising Star" award. These 14 academicians were recognized for emerging as the top 1% researchers with the most cited papers in their respective fields, in the world. The data, derived from the Web of Science (WoS) database and Essential Science Indicators (ESI) between 2005 and 2014, was analysed by Thomson Reuters.

Encouragingly, the analysis indicated that these Malaysian researchers are leaders in 6 out of 21 research areas with more than half of the highly cited works in the fields of 'Energy & Fuel' and Engineering. I am truly proud of the achievements of our university researchers and am humbled by their hard work. They have shown that they are able to compete with the best scientists in the world.

More importantly, I hope this acknowledgement spurs more impactful research - this is an ongoing process. I also hope that meaningful outcomes are achieved for the benefit of all Malaysians and the international community. Lastly, I believe that these researchers will be able to inspire our children to one day follow in their footsteps. Science and research can be quite cool. Based on this, I truly believe that we are #‎SoaringUpwards‬.